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Letters of Note is an attempt to gather and sort fascinating letters, postcards, telegrams, faxes, and memos. Scans/photos where possible. Fakes will be sneered at. Updated as often as possible; usually each weekday.

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Wednesday, 3 March 2010

The United States' first publicly demonstrated telegram was dispatched on May 24th, 1844, by the system's developer, Samuel Morse. The telegram's message - What hath God wrought? - was chosen from the bible by the daughter of Morse's friend, Henry Ellsworth, and successfully travelled from Washington, D.C. to Baltimore, Maryland, instantly stunning the general public. Below is a photo of the outgoing paper tape. Each code character's corresponding letter was subsequently handwritten underneath by Morse himself.

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